The impact of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and quarantine responses on the toxic-epidemiological situation in Azerbaijan

Introduction. The global pandemic of the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has not only been a serious stress test for healthcare systems in many countries around the world, but has also had a significant impact on the structure and number of acute chemical poisoning. The aim of this study was to study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and related quarantine measures on the toxic-epidemiological situation in Azerbaijan.

Materials and methods. We conducted a comparative analysis of the database of the Clinical Medicine Center in Baku during the nine months of the pandemic period (March 20 — December 21, 2020) with the data of the same period in 2019 and the previous decade (2009–2018).

Results. The alarming dynamics of a significant increase in the number of alcohol surrogates and primarily methyl alcohol poisoning, was revealed. If in the 10-year period of 2009–2018, the intoxication of alcohol surrogates was only 0.09% of the total poisoning cases, then during the study period of 2020 the share of such intoxications increased to 3.4%. The mortality rate in alcohol surrogate intoxication group in 2019 was 5.6% versus 50.0% in March-December 2020. All fatal cases in alcohol surrogate intoxication cohort were related to methyl alcohol poisoning, thus, the mortality rate of this pathology was 61.5%.

Conclusion. The COVID-19 pandemic and related quarantine measures had a notable impact on the toxic-epidemiological situation in Azerbaijan and led to a significant increase in alcohol and methanol poisoning and fatality.

Limitations. The study was conducted on the basis of the only specialized medical institution in Azerbaijan engaged for the treatment of chemical poisoning, therefore the collected database can be considered representative and relevant to the country’s overall toxic-epidemiological situation.